These images provided by the Ferguson Police Department show security camera footage from a convenience store in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 9, 2014, the day that Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer. A report released Friday, Aug. 15, 2014, by Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson says the footage shows a confrontation between Brown and an employee at the store. The report says that Brown and his friend, Dorian Johnson, stole a box of cigars from the store shortly before Brown's death. (AP Photo/Ferguson Police Department)

This undated photo provided by the Brown family shows Michael Brown. Michael Brown, 18, was shot and killed in a confrontation with police in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Mo, on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014.

These images provided by the Ferguson Police Department show security camera footage from a convenience store in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 9, 2014, the day that Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer. A report released Friday, Aug. 15, 2014, by Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson says the footage shows a confrontation between Brown and an employee at the store. The report says that Brown and his friend, Dorian Johnson, stole a box of cigars from the store shortly before Brown's death.

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — A suburban St. Louis police chief on Friday identified the officer whose fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager ignited days of heated protests, and released documents alleging the teen was killed after a robbery in which he was suspected of stealing a $48.99 box of cigars.

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson released several police reports and documents during a news conference where he also identified the officer involved as Darren Wilson, who has been on administrative leave since the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9.

According to the police reports, Brown and his friend, Dorian Johnson, were suspected of taking a box of cigars from a store in Ferguson that morning. Jackson said Wilson, along with other officers, was called to the area after a 911 call reporting a "strong-arm" robbery just before noon. He said a dispatcher gave a description of the robbery suspect, and Wilson, who had been assisting on another call, was sent to investigate.

Wilson, a six-year veteran of the police department, encountered Brown just after 12:01 p.m., with a second officer arriving three minutes later, Jackson said.

Brown's death has sparked several days of clashes with furious protesters in the city. The mood was quelled on Thursday, after the governor turned oversight of the protests to the state Highway Patrol. State troopers walking side-by-side with thousands of peaceful protesters replaced the county police in riot gear and armored tanks of previous nights.

But the police chief's announcement Friday was met with immediate disbelief and anger by several dozen community members who also attended the news conference, which was hastily held at a gas station burned during a night of looting earlier in the week.

"He stopped the wrong one, bottom line," yelled Tatinisha Wheeler, a nurse's aide who was at the news conference.

A couple dozen protesters began marching around the area and in the street chanting, "Hands up, don't shoot," and, "What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!"

Police have said Brown was shot after an officer encountered him and another man on the street. They say one of the men pushed the officer into his squad car, then physically assaulted him in the vehicle and struggled with the officer over the officer's weapon. At least one shot was fired inside the car before the struggle spilled onto the street, where Brown was shot multiple times, according to police.

Dorian Johnson has told media very different story. He has said he and Brown were walking in the street when an officer ordered them out of the street, then grabbed his friend's neck and tried to pull him into the car before brandishing his weapon and firing. He said Brown started to run and the officer pursued him, firing multiple times.

Tensions boiled over after a candlelight vigil Sunday night, as looters smashed and burned businesses in the neighborhood, where police have repeatedly fired tear gas and smoke bombs.

But on Thursday, county police in riot gear and armored tanks gave way to state troopers walking side-by-side with thousands of peaceful protesters. The dramatic shift came after Gov. Jay Nixon assigned oversight of the protests to the state Highway Patrol, stripping that authority from the St. Louis County Police Department.

"All they did was look at us and shoot tear gas," Pedro Smith, who has participated in the nightly protests, said Thursday. "This is totally different. Now we're being treated with respect."

The more tolerant response came as President Barack Obama spoke publicly for the first time about the shooting — and the subsequent violence that shocked the nation and threatened to tear apart Ferguson, a town of 21,000 that is nearly 70 percent black and patrolled by a nearly all-white police force.

Obama said there was "no excuse" for violence either against the police or by officers against peaceful protesters.

Nixon's promise to ease the deep racial tensions was swiftly put to the test as demonstrators gathered again Thursday evening. But the latest protests had a light, almost jubilant atmosphere among the racially mixed crowd, more akin to a parade or block party.

The streets were filled with music, free food and even laughter. When darkness fell — the point at which previous protests have grown tense — no uniformed officers were in sight outside the burned-out QuikTrip convenience store that had become a flashpoint for standoffs between police and protesters.

"You can feel it. You can see it," protester Cleo Willis said of the change Thursday. "Now it's up to us to ride that feeling."

Nixon appointed Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, who is black, to lead the police effort. Johnson, who grew up near Ferguson and commands a region that includes St. Louis County, marched alongside protesters Thursday, joined by other high-ranking brass from the Highway Patrol as well as the county department. The marchers also had a police escort.

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for
following agreed-upon rules of civility. Posts and
comments do not reflect the views of this site. Posts and comments are
automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some
comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules,
click the "Flag as offensive" link below the comment.

Some years back while being stopped by LPD on 34th & Indiana at three o'clock in the afternoon for not wearing my seat belt, I looked in my side mirror, watching the cop approach me at almost a run with his hand on his gun; I thought, WOW! Wrote it off to experience.

Last month, on an afternoon, while getting ready to walk my dog, I was sitting in my parked truck at Preston Smith Park when a cop pulled in right behind me, not parking at the curb like I did but at an angle as if he was trying to block me. Watched him for a few minutes in my rear view mirror and then got out of my truck with my arms down and upturned palms asked if there was a problem. He just went ballistic, screaming at me "you want to make it one?" Exited his truck with his hand on his gun, still screaming and informed me that he didn't like the way I got out of my truck. I told him I was not getting out of my truck in any other way than I usually do with my bad back and that at my age I was lucky to be able to get out of my truck at all; after handing him my license as asked and telling him my age he backed off. Never did tell why he pulled up behind me in the manner that he did. Rude, crude and with serious anger management issues.

Police never know who is behind the wheel of a vehicle and many have been killed by just walking up to the car. Other thugs quickly get out of their car with a gun or else take off running. Police are entitled to take care of themselves and use precautions, even though some people get their feathers ruffled. There have been many articles and TV spots telling people how and when to get out of a car when stopped and how to make sure the law enforcement personnel know they are not in danger. If you don't do that, then don't complain about being mistaken for a problem. As far as the basic article, once again the mob is demanding information and "justice" even before all the facts are in, and then not believing information when it is released. If the kid is confirmed as a robber, I wonder what kind of justice they will want then; more rioting and vandalism?

Police never know who is behind the wheel of a vehicle and many have been killed by just walking up to the car. Other thugs quickly get out of their car with a gun or else take off running. Police are entitled to take care of themselves and use precautions, even though some people get their feathers ruffled. There have been many articles and TV spots telling people how and when to get out of a car when stopped and how to make sure the law enforcement personnel know they are not in danger. If you don't do that, then don't complain about being mistaken for a problem. As far as the basic article, once again the mob is demanding information and "justice" even before all the facts are in, and then not believing information when it is released. If the kid is confirmed as a robber, I wonder what kind of justice they will want then; more rioting and vandalism?

These folks have every right to be upset. The disparities in traffic stops and arrests in Ferguson are oppressive. Years of over policing poor folks and racial profiling is lousy community outreach. Plus, having someone with a history of racist theories of the 14th Amendment refer these folks as a "mob" is just pure bigoted baloney.

Even if this teenager is a suspect in a cigar robbery, police aren't suppose to kill unarmed suspects that have there hands up in the street. No one deserves that kind of justice.

I let him know that there was no danger by keeping my arms by my sides with my palms upturned. As I stated, he never did inform me why he would pull in behind me being legally parked, the way he did. His whole demeanor was one of antagonistic, overreaching authority.

"Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own." Jonathan Swift "I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members." Groucho Marx

involving a Tech student from South America, we were asked, "Do you ever feel threatened by law enforcement officers". Many said no, but a few of us said yes.

I don't generally, but my answer was "yes".

That may have something to do with being stopped coming back to Brownfield from a date, having a squad car whip out of a parking lot to pull me over, rolling down the window, and looking up into the barrels of a 12 gauge and a .357. It's amazing how big those holes look when they are pointed at you from about two feet away.

I was handcuffed and put into the backseat of the squad car, when the car other police, deputies, and DPS officers were chasing was stopped by my car and the squad car blocking the road.

I've told my sons to say "no sir" and "yes sir" to people carrying firearms, but that can be problematic too. I've have raised law enforcement officers' suspicions by being too polite. Maybe if I'd cussed a little, they would have trusted me more.

"Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own." Jonathan Swift "I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members." Groucho Marx

I caught that press conference. IMO, it is somewhat disingenuous to hold the press conference under the pretense of releasing the name of the officer, but then also release an alleged offense of the victim while stating the interaction was predicated upon something entirely different than the alleged offense. As an added bonus, compliment the officer who killed the young man without showing his picture. Weak and inflammatory.

Back in the 60's in San Antonio I had a first date with a gal and we had just walked in a club. We were standing at the bar and I was raising my glass of beer to have my first alcoholic drink of the evening. Before I could do so, I was tapped on my shoulder from behind and when I turned around I was looking in the face of the policeman that had given me a couple of traffic tickets some days earlier but which I had been able to get dismissed. I was stone sober, yet he booked me for PI. At the jail even the deputy approached me and let me know that he didn't think I had been drinking; offered me a huge cell on the third floor all to myself with plenty of magazines to read. Said, he'd have to hold me for a certain number of hours and after that he'd let me go, which he did. Can't remember what happened after that and don't recall having to pay any fine; maybe I did. So, I traded a couple of fixed traffic tickets for a few hours in the clink. What I do remember is that 2 years later the same cop was sent to Huntsville for 7 years for being the leader of one of the biggest burglary rings in San Antonio in years. Even had warehouse storage up at Canyon Lake for the ill gotten goods.

for the old CYA action by the police!! The officer that shot him had no idea about the robbery! It's getting to where a lot of people are scared to drive, walk teir pets or anything else, for that matter! Not sure the truth will ever come out, just like the Martin case in FL.! But, watch out for the cops, never know who is gun-happy or not!

"Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own." Jonathan Swift "I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members." Groucho Marx

violation, was searched, and had a warrant search done on me. Turned out that a man name Ross had a warrant out from Austin, and they thought it was me. He was three inches shorter, had different eye color, and the AISD ID I provided was only 5 years old.

The only reason I walked away from that one without going to jail was because the other Ross had not committed an offense which would have allowed for me to be extradited to Texas to face charges.

The officer tried to make me feel better by pointing out that it was not worth his while to arrest me since I could not be extradited for a crime I did not commit.

Thank you officer, may I have another.

So, the guy may have pushed another guy, and stole some Swisher Sweets. The cop apparently didn't know that when he confronted Brown. What he did is his. Blaming a robbery he didn't know about for his shooting this young man doesn't seem to excuse his actions.

Shoot 'em if you got 'em, and let god sort out the innocent from the guilty.

Maybe we all need to be a policeperson for awhile. Maybe we need to watch our backs and our community while taking all kinds of garbage from everyone. Maybe we might become very cautious after being shot at, spit at, etc, simply because we wear a uniform.
Police officers are human, just like we are.
I want a President who will step up and enforce the same laws for
all races, not just his race. Did he step in when the white jogger was shot while jogging by the young black men who were bored?
No, because the community there did not get up in arms and trash their own stores, their own homes.
Does it make sense to trash your own community? What does that gain you? Oh, yes, it gains you a stolen TV, etc.
Again, I want a President who is all people. Will he send out the attorney General if a young white man is killed by a black police officer?

The above comment misses the entire point. The man shot in Oklahoma was not shot by a police officer in a community with a history of racial disparities in arrests, stops, racial profiling and decades of racist housing policies. And not all of the teens involved in Oklahoma were black.

" I want a President who will step up and enforce the same laws for all races, not just his race." What an asinine statement. Demonstrate how Obama has only enforced laws for African Americans.